MartinLogan Odyssey [12/28] Controlled horizontal dispersion

Your Odysseys launch a 30 degree dispersion pattern when

viewed from above. This horizontal dispersion field gives a

choice of good seats for the performance while minimizing

interactions with side walls (See Figure 7). Make sure both

speakers stand exactly at the same vertical angle, otherwise

the image can be skewed or poorly defined. The wave

launch of both speakers is extremely accurate in both the

time and spectral domain. Consequently, small refined

adjustments can result in noticeable sonic improvements.

Controlled Vertical Dispersion

As you can see from the illustrations, your Odyssey speakers

project a controlled dispersion pattern. Each Odyssey is a

four foot line source beginning 20 inches above the floor

level (See Figure 8). This vertical dispersion profile minimizes

interactions with the floor and the ceiling.

In the field of loudspeaker design, it is a known fact that as

the sound wave becomes progressively smaller than the

transducer producing it, the dispersion of that wave

becomes more and more narrow, or directional. This fact

occurs as long as the transducer is a flat surface. Large flat

panel speakers exhibit venetian blind effects due to this

phenomenon. This is why most manufacturers opt for

small drivers (i.e. tweeters and midrange) to approximate

what is known as a point source wave launch.

Historically, most attempts to achieve smooth dispersion

from large flat panel transducers resulted in trade-offs.

After exhaustive testing of these different solution attempts,

we found an elegantly simple, yet very difficult to execute

solution. By curving the radiating surface, we create the

effect of a horizontal arc. This allows the engineers at

MartinLogan to control the high frequency dispersion

pattern of our transducers. That is why you see the gentle

curve on our products.

12 Dispersion Interactions

DISPERSION INTERACTIONS

Controlled Horizontal Dispersion Three Major Types of Dispersion

Figure 7. MartinLogan Odysseys deliver a 30 degree wave launch disper-

sion pattern distributed horizontally.

Figure 8. Your Odyssey speaker system is a 48” inch line source when

viewed vertically. Actual height above floor is from 16” inches to 64” inches.